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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM122012JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH MINUTES Thursday, December 20, 2012 2:30 PM — 4:30 PM Cotton Building, 607 Water Street Port Townsend, WA 98368 Board Members Staff Members Phil Johnson, Chair, County Commissioner District #1 Thomas Locke, MD, MPH Health Officer David Sullivan, County Commissioner, District #2 Jean Baldwin, Public Health Services Director John Austin, County Commissioner, District #3 Julia Danskin, Nursing Services Director Roberta Frissell, citizen at large (County) Jared Keefer, Environmental Health Services Director Catharine Robinson, Port Townsend City Council Sheila Westerman, Citizen at large (City) Jill Buhler, Vice Chair, Hospital Commissioner, District #2 Vice Chair Buhler called the meeting of the Jefferson County Board of Health to order at 2:35 PM. A quorum was present. Members Present: David Sullivan, John Austin, Roberta Frissell, Catharine Robinson, Sheila Westerman, Jill Buhler. Members Excused: Phil Johnson Staff Present: Thomas Locke, MD, Jean Baldwin, Julia Danskin, Jared Keefer, Cathy Avery, Linda Atkins APPROVAL OF AGENDA Member Robinson moved to approve the agenda of the December 20, 2012 BOH meeting. Member Austin seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Member Frissell moved to approve the minutes of the October 18, 2012 BOH meeting. Member Robinson seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. OLD BUSINESS and INFORMATIONAL ITEMS State Spending for Anti -Smoking Efforts Dr. Locke reported that of the $25.7 billion the states are collecting on taxes on cigarettes and with the 1998 tobacco settlement, only 1.8% will go toward tobacco prevention and treatment programs in 2013. Washington was able to drop tobacco use rates from the mid 20% range to about 14%, which saves billions of dollars in medical costs but this will not continue without the funding for prevention and treatment. BOH Minutes December 20, 2012 Waste Free Holiday and Lead Toy Screening Jared Keefer, Environmental Health Director, reported the Solid Waste team organized a program on waste free holiday's which included education on what can be done to create less waste during the holidays. He also reported that on December 14th and 15th they offered lead testing of toys to the public and local toy stores. Port Townsend Paper Corporation Landfill Permit Update Dr. Locke updated the Board on the current status of the Port Townsend Paper Corporation landfill permit. He reported the administrative hearing was held November 28, 2012 and as the Hearing Officer, he issued a preliminary decision on December 3, 2012 affirming the denial of the landfill permit. The final decision will be prepared by the county attorney and the solid waste staff, reviewed by Dr. Locke and is expected to be finalized by December 20, 2012. Dr. Locke stated that should the mill decide to appeal the decision further it would go to the Washington State Pollution Control Hearing Board. NEW BUSINESS Operation and Maintenance 101 Class Update Linda Atkins, Environmental Health Specialist, gave an update on the Operation and Maintenance 101 classes. She reported that Clallam County received a grant about 2 years ago to create a video for homeowners to conduct their own septic inspections. They completed their pilot project and had removed their training video from their website until it was approved by the granting agency, so the video has not been available to Jefferson County. Ms. Atkins announced that Department of Health has agreed to host the video and she expects the Operation and Maintenance 201 video to be up after the first of the year. She also announced that Clallam County has received a grant to update the 101 video which was originally prepared by Island County to make it more consistent with the 201 video. The 101 video was received in its final form by the Department of Health December 19, 2012. Ms. Atkins stated they have performed five classes around East Jefferson County and have four more scheduled for February. They have decided to wait until both videos are available to start sending out inspection reminders, but they have started sending out follow up letters on monitoring reports. Affordable Care Act Implementation Moves Forward — Public Health Impacts Dr. Locke updated the Board on the impact the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will have on Public Health. He discussed handouts which were included in the agenda packet. Dr. Locke stated that each state must have their exchanges finalized by October of 2013 or the Federal health insurance exchange model will be imposed. With the re-election of President Obama implementation of the law is moving forward which means 2013 will be a very tumultuous year in terms of changes in healthcare financing systems and redefining roles of health care and public health providers. There is enormous uncertainty as many features of the ACA have never been implemented before. Dr. Locke discussed the graph on the article written by John Bloom regarding legal and political hurdles awaiting the Affordable Care Act, which showed that with insurance reform there will be Medicaid expansion, health insurance exchanges, and additional BOH Minutes December 20, 2012 controls on what insurance companies can and cannot do. The delivery system reforms include authorization of demonstration projects, providing new incentives for innovative practice and for states to experiment with how health care is delivered on a state by state basis. The goal of health care reform, as articulated by the Institute of Healthcare Improvement is to accomplish three goals simultaneously. The first is to improve population health, the second is to "bend the cost curve" (i.e. reduce the rate of cost increase), and thirdly to improve the patient experience of care. Ms. Danskin stated the newly eligible people will have insurance by January 2014 and those people will need to find providers in the community that will accept the insurance plans the state is contracting with. She also stated there are safety net programs that won't be funded because of improved insurance coverage. Ms. Baldwin stressed this will be an important time to watch for community impacts. Finally Dr. Locke discussed an article written by George C. Benjamin of the American Public Health Association which outlined the three major ways the Affordable Care Act is going to affect public health. Jefferson County Public Health Implements EMD System Jean Baldwin announced JCPH has chosen an electronic medical health records system called e -MDs. Providers and billing clerks have finished two weeks of training on the new system. Ms. Baldwin stated the goal of electronic medical records is to improve patient care by having all providers' meet meaningful use standards and by integrating all medical services electronically. Washington State Budget Update Jean Baldwin referred to the BOH handout in the agenda packet which discussed three sources of state funding and whether they will continue. The three sources of funding are Local Capacity Development Funds (LCDF) approximately $7.6 million/year $38,298 in JCPH, Motor Vehicle Excise Tax (MVET) $24 million/year $85782 for JCPH and Blue Ribbon/5930 Funds $4.75/million/year or $60,000 for JCPH. Ms. Baldwin pointed out that all of these funds are open for discussion and may be cut from state budgets. Substance Abuse Advisory Board Appointment Member Austin moved to approve the appointment of Garin Williams to the Substance Abuse Advisory Board. Member Robinson seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. ACTIVITY UPDATE Dr. Locke updated the Board on the current flu activity. He expects it to be an early flu season. Dr. Locke pointed out that a concern this year is of the initial isolates of flu virus almost all have the strain H3N2 and people tend to be sicker with this type of influenza. Finally he stated there was a good match between the vaccine strains and the circulating strains. Jean Baldwin announced there was the first death of an infant due to Pertussis, which was in King County. BOH Minutes December 20, 2012 Jean Baldwin pointed out the last article in the media packet which compares three states and their health exchange plans. Jean Baldwin announced Jared Keefer was awarded a fellowship from Robert Wood Johnson. Mr. Keefer stated there were 60 leaders in local public health selected for a fellowship to guide them to local, state, and national public health leadership. Member Austin announced the State Board of Health is under a rules moratorium which will expire December 31, 2012 Member Westerman suggested discussing a large tax on guns and ammunition to be used toward education and prevention. ` None PUBLIC COMMENT AGENDA PLANNING CALENDAR The January BOH meeting will be held at the Jefferson County Health Department. Member Austin moved to adjourn the December 20, 2012 BOH meeting. The motion was seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The next Board of Health meeting will be held on January 17, 2013 from 2:30 — 4:30 pm. ADJOURNMENT Vice Chair Buhler adjourned the BOH meeting at 4:15 pm. BOH Minutes December 20, 2012 JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH Excused Phil Johnson, Chair Roberta Frissell, Member Catharine Robinson, Member Sheila Westerman, Member Respectfully Submitted: Stacie Reid Ji Buhle , it Davi Sul �VO, ember Joh ustin,ember BOH Minutes December 20. 2012